With limited size at the four-spot, AD should finish those with ease. Those are all matchups that Lebron can attack off the dribble and if the Pelicans try to hedge, LeBron can thread the needle to AD on the roll. in the lineup, it’s either Valanciunas, Cody Zeller, or Zion Williamson in that spot. The Pelicans play Jonas Valanciunas at starting center, and without Larry Nance Jr. The LeBron and Davis pick-and-roll is also likely to pay dividends in this matchup. But it’s the synergy between AD and LeBron that should prove decisive. Anthony Davis will maul most of the Pelicans centers, and LeBron can overpower most of their perimeter players. But I don't think that the Pelicans wings will be as impactful going against LeBron and company as they were against the Sacramento Kingsįor one thing, the Lakers are just as big. New Orleans has size on the wing and a slew of strong perimeter defenders who can also guard up, including Herb Jones and Dyson Daniels. That said, the Pelicans do have something that the Phoenix Suns did not. That is a hell of a trump card to have in a tournament of this nature. But in the span of a single game, even one in which he plays all 48 minutes, he can still be every bit the difference maker he once was - which is to say, the clear best player on the planet. LeBron is having his most efficient scoring season since his last season with the Miami Heat (which, brace yourself, was a decade ago) and he’s doing it with a much more limited roster, at age 39.Īs we saw in last year’s playoffs, at this age, LeBron has difficulty dialing it all the way up for an entire seven-game series. We're going deeper with The King in our LeBron James odds spotlight and our Pelicans vs. Lakers believe that LeBron James is still among the best players on the planet in a single elimination game scenario, and I like him to show out against New Orleans. My NBA picks and predictions for Pelicans vs. These two franchises are forever connected because of the Anthony Davis trade, and both will see this game as a measuring stick for their current progress as well as an indicator of their future potential.

The semifinal on Thursday, December 7 sees those two forces collide on a neutral court in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the NBA odds suggest this will be a tight game. Not only do we have exciting young teams like the New Orleans Pelicans playing some of the most meaningful basketball of their lives, we also have older veteran teams like the Los Angeles Lakers out to prove that they still have another run in them. I’m not sure if Adam Silver could have scripted the first In-Season Tournament odds any better.

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